October 20, 2009
Brazil plants 12 percent of 2009-10 soy crop
Brazilian soy producers planted 12 percent of the new crop, which is seen at 64.7 million tonnes, by the week ended October 16, up from 6 percent sown by this week last year, analysts Celeres said on Monday (Oct 19).
Planting reached 5 percent of the national crop on average over the past five years by this week.
Regular rainfall in the past month in most of the center-south grain belt has created favourable conditions for the planting of the new crop.
The main soy producing state of Mato Grosso, which is also the first state to plant, has planted 23 percent of its expected crop by last week, up from the 10 percent planted by this time last year.
Including the other central-western states such as No. 4 soy producer Goias and No. 5 Mato Grosso do Sul, the region has planted 20 percent of the new crop so far, up from 9 percent last year.
No. 2 soy producer state Parana has planted 14 percent of its crop, up from 8 percent last year at this time.
Planting moves southward from the central-western states such as Mato Grosso to finish up in the southernmost state Rio Grande do Sul in December. Harvest starts in January in Mato Grosso and winds down in May in the south.
Brazilian producers have sold 15 percent of the new crop in forward sales by October 16, down from 19 percent at this time last year and unchanged from 15 percent last week, Celeres said in its weekly report.
Mato Grosso sold forward 23 percent of its crop, up one percent from a week earlier but down from 29 percent this time last year. Sales in the central-western state are normally ahead of others in the soy belt.
Parana, the No. 2 soy state, sold 10 percent of the crop ahead, up one percent from the previous week but down from the 11 percent by this time in 2008, Celeres said.
Rio Grande do Sul state, the No. 3 producer, has sold 3 percent of its crop, unchanged from the previous week and down from the 5 percent this time last year.
Sales of the old crop are seen at 94 percent, up from 93 percent a year ago.
